MINORITIES FEEL SAFE AND PROUD IN INDIA: RIJIJU

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju speaks on minorities, Parliament, opposition conduct and democratic functioning at India Manch conclave

- ANJALI SINGH NEW DELHI

"(I myself am a minority. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis - all are minorities. Give me one example where a minority was forced to flee India out of fear. That does not happen here," Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said while speaking at the India News Manch 2025.

"I am not Hindu, yet I say minorities in India feel safe and proud. Compare this with Pakistan or Bangladesh. In India, minorities feel no insecurity. Being Indian is a matter of pride."

Q: I am using the word "pressure" deliberately - what would you say about the role of the Opposition in Parliament?

A: Look, in a democracy, the Opposition has a role to play, and they are playing that role. I have no objection to that. My objection arises only when Parliament does not function. If Parliament does not debate and discuss issues, people are watching, and the credibility of politics, its quality, and public trust all suffer.

Parliament must function. There must be debate. We may have differences of opinion on many issues, and that is perfectly fine. In a democracy, everyone has the right to express their views. But when there is a deadlock and Parliament cannot function, that makes me unhappy.

In the last session, we passed a lot of business and several important Bills. From the government's point of view, it was good. But there was not as much discussion on every Bill as there should have been, and that is not good for democracy.

If I look at it selfishly, purely from the government's perspective, we have a majority and can pass Bills anyway. But that is not healthy for democracy.